University of North Texas President Lane
Rawlins will retire at the end of the year or as soon as a successor can be
named. He made the announcement Tuesday in a letter to faculty, staff and
students.

“I’ve been thinking about this,” Rawlins
said. “I’ve been trying to find the right time.”

He said he likes what’s happening in the
state Legislature and feels UNT is on course with its strategic plan.

Chancellor Lee Jackson said he wasn’t
surprised when Rawlins approached him about retiring earlier this year because
the two have had discussions about this every year.

“We were lucky that his original interim
assignment turned into three years of increasingly successful, satisfying
leadership,” Jackson said.

In the letter to the UNT community,
Rawlins said it was the right time for him to step down.

“My decision was influenced by knowing
that we are in a good position right now,” Rawlins said in the letter. “The
budget moves we made this year put us on level ground, and the current
legislative session and enrollment forecast promise some increases. The campus
leadership is committed, skilled and devoted to UNT, so the university is in
good hands.”

Jackson said Rawlins was instrumental in
the planning and budgeting for the branding campaign, building new facilities,
focusing on research and increasing the standards of students at the
university.

“He brought a different type of
thoughtful, analytical leadership style that was calming and helped focus,”
Jackson said, adding that Rawlins helped UNT establish its priorities.

The UNT Board of Regents met Feb. 15 in
executive session to discuss matters related to Rawlins’ contract. During the
regularly scheduled meeting, regents voted to give authority to Jackson to
finalize an amendment to Rawlins’ contract.

At the time, both Jackson and Rawlins
were vague about what the amendment would be.

Jackson said he and Rawlins would be
“tweaking” the contract.

The UNT regents in August had renewed
Rawlins’ contract for two years.

“One of the reasons I renewed, frankly,
was to make sure we were on solid ground,” Rawlins said, referring to the
budget and enrollment plans.

The amendment to his contract states
that Rawlins’ employment will end no later than Dec. 31 and no earlier than
July 1 of this year.

Rawlins said he didn’t want to retire
before July because he wants to be at UNT through the end of the semester for
commencement ceremonies.

It’s standard to remain at the
university until a successor is named if the president isn’t taking another
job, Rawlins said, adding that he did the same when he retired as president
from Washington State University.

“The best transition doesn’t require
interim measures,” Jackson said. “He’s given us quite a bit of time, the rest
of the year, to identify and bring forth and agree on a strong president.”

He said he is confident UNT can find a
successor before the end of the year. That means UNT will need one or more
candidates by the summer, he said.

Rawlins became interim president of UNT
in April 2010, replacing Phil Diebel, who briefly served as interim president
after the resignation of Gretchen Bataille.

Bataille abruptly resigned in February
2010, saying she was forced out after a series of disagreements with Jackson.

Rawlins served as the president of two
other universities — Washington State University and the University of Memphis
— before coming to UNT.

When he became interim president, he
made it clear he wasn’t interested in pursuing the permanent position, but in
January 2011, Rawlins became the university’s 15th president.

He said at the time that he realized
there were projects he wanted to start that he didn’t feel he could see through
as an interim president.

When Rawlins became interim president,
he said he was surprised UNT hadn’t built more partnerships in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area, where UNT graduates have made an enormous economic contribution.

During his tenure at UNT, Rawlins faced
difficult budget situations from the state and led the quiet phase of a capital
campaign, which is expected to go public in April.

UNT received several multimillion-dollar
gifts during Rawlins’ presidency, including a $22 million gift from Thai businessman
and UNT alumnus Charn Uswachoke, a $20 million sponsorship agreement with the
technology company Apogee for the naming rights of the new football stadium and
an $8 million pledge from Denton businessman Paul Voertman.

In February 2012, Rawlins unveiled a new
five-year strategic plan and image, implementing “Four Bold Goals, One Great
University.” The plan came with a new tagline for the university: “A Green
Light to Greatness.”

The goals include providing the best
undergraduate educational experience in Texas, becoming a tier-one research
institution, running an effective business and expanding its outreach to the
community and across North Texas.

In his announcement letter, Rawlins
said, “Our strategic plan and ‘four bold goals,’ set a course for greatness
that is ambitious, but within our reach. It seems to be a good time to attract
a strong new president.”

Under his leadership, UNT completed
Apogee Stadium and the Business Leadership Building. He led the university in
building the pedestrian bridge that links the main campus to Apogee Stadium.
Three 100-kilowatt wind turbines, which were paid for by a $2 million grant
from the State Energy Conservation Office, were also added to the university
under Rawlins’ leadership.

Rawlins also started discussions on
building a new University Union. The project, with a maximum budget of $128.4
million, was approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in
January. Students voted in April 2012 to approve a union fee increase of up to $115
a semester.

Rawlins fought to improve the quality of
students attending UNT.

In fall 2011, UNT boasted its largest
freshmen class of more than 4,000 students, even after turning away about 35
percent of freshmen students who applied.

At a 2011 regents meeting, Rawlins told
regents the quality of students was better and the university should grow at a
manageable rate.

In fall 2012, UNT had a 9.2 percent
increase of freshmen over 2011, making it the university’s largest freshmen
class in history with 4,444 students. It also saw a slight increase in overall
enrollment.

Jackson credits Rawlins with helping
facilitate UNT’s move from the Sun Belt Conference to Conference USA. The
school will officially make the switch this summer after spending 12 years in
the Sun Belt.

The move to C-USA, which is widely
considered to be a higher-level league, will place UNT in a conference with
in-state schools Rice, UTEP and UT-San Antonio, in addition to Tulsa, Louisiana
Tech and Tulane. Playing those regional schools is expected to heighten the
visibility of UNT’s program.

Rawlins also played a key role in the
school hiring highly respected consultant Chuck Neinas to study the state of
the UNT athletic program in 2010.

Neinas later assisted UNT in its search
for a new football coach after Todd Dodge was fired.

UNT settled on former Iowa State head
coach Dan McCarney to take over the program and saw him finish with a 9-15
record in his first two seasons, exceeding the Mean Green’s win total of eight
from the previous four seasons combined.

After his retirement, Rawlins will hold
the title of president emeritus, which he was happy to accept to finish some
projects, including working with international contacts and fundraising.

“I want to stay connected and be of
service and make sure I don’t get in the way,” Rawlins said.

He holds the title of president emeritus
at Washington State University as well.

As part of the president emeritus title,
Rawlins has declined taking a salary but will have the option to have an office
and part-time assistant, if necessary, for university business. He will also
have a $20,000 annual allowance for travel expenses incurred for university
business, according to the amendment.

Jackson said the title shows the esteem
UNT holds for Rawlins. He will be able to assist his successor, Jackson said.

Chris Foster, chairman of the Staff
Council at UNT, said in an e-mail Tuesday that the staff knew the day would
eventually come when Rawlins would leave.

“Rawlins has made an indelible mark on
UNT and the faculty, staff and students who call this place home,” he said. “He
is an inspirational leader and we have enjoyed working with him.”

Andy Rolfes, director of public
relations for the Student Government Association, said he was surprised to hear
the news Tuesday.

“He’s definitely been pushing the
university in the right direction,” Rolfes said.

UNT is working to appoint a 15-member
committee that will be led by UNT Regent Brint Ryan and hopes to have it in
place by the end of March. Storbeck Pimentel, a national search firm, will
assist the committee.

Jackson said also he will be meeting
with campus groups to come to a consensus about what direction UNT would like
to go with the next president.

Rawlins said he’s had a great time at
UNT.

“It’s been a very satisfying thing,” he
said.

Rawlins has been impressed by the
students, he said, adding that the student body is diverse. He likes UNT’s
emphasis on the arts and sciences as well as social sciences.

“Universities don’t change dramatically,
in a hurry,” Rawlins said. “I think this one is on the right track and that
gives me a lot of satisfaction.”

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